What do you like best?

The Adobe Creative Suite provides all the tools I need for design of documents, graphics, and videos. It is very efficient that there are natural connections between platforms like Photoshop and inDesign and Illustrator. One of my favorites APPS is Adobe Spark, a template, drag-and-drop, system for creating marketing video, particularly for social media. Spark provides all the tools, from styles to music backgrounds.

What do you dislike?

There is very little to dislike about the Creative Suite, but you do need training to use the applications, they are not really intended for novices.

Recommendations to others considering the product

I highly recommend the suite if your business requires design projects, document management, or even video creation and editing. One of my favorites APPS is Adobe Spark, a template, drag-and-drop, system for creating marketing video, particularly for social media. Spark provides all the tools, from styles to music backgrounds, all you need to provide is the idea and text to express your idea. Spark leads you through the creation and editing process and when you are finished, it compiles the file in an easily, downloaded format.

What business problems are you solving with the product? What benefits have you realized?

I use the Creative Suite to create and edit universal PDF documents in Adobe Acrobat DC; Photoshop to create graphics and print projects; and Premiere Pro to create and edit videos for podcasts, webinars, and social media platforms. As a non-designer user of the CC Suite, it is relatively simple to comprehend the menus and using common processes, albeit unique language, to use menus and systems of the other platforms.

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What do you like best?

Adobe Creative Suite has all tools that you need to work with 2d images, video, and sound. The suite includes the best to work with vectorial images (Adobe Illustrator) Image Editing (Photoshop, Bridge, and Lightroom) Editorial (Indesign) Video editing (Premiere and After Effects) and so on. What I like the best is the interoperability between the different programs, they all have the same language and interface design, even if the commands are not the same you can get them as soon as you enter the main screen. The toolbars and workspaces are similar so there is some advantage there if you haven't worked with one program and you want to start learning other on the suite.

What do you dislike?

Since I started working with Adobe (version CS) I haven't found too many thinks that I dislike. The products that I use the most don't have something that I dislike.

Recommendations to others considering the product

If you are a designer this is a must. Forget about other programs and competitors. Adobe has the tools that you will need.

What business problems are you solving with the product? What benefits have you realized?

Making presentations is vital to communicate clients design concepts. Is the end of each face in my job. Every time that we have a meeting we show the client a "deck" that was produced in some of the Adobe programs.

What do you like best?

The Adobe Creative Suite has software for the creation/editing of basically ANY kind of media you can think of. Photo/video editing capabilities of Photoshop, Premiere and After Effects, 3D character creation with Fuse and website development with Dreamweaver and Muse - the Creative Suite really does do it all. And, if you're a student, you can access the entire suite for less than 20 bucks a month- an absolute steal.

What do you dislike?

The option to work on collaborative projects (Premiere and After Effects) is limited to the Creative Suite Business subscription, and is not included with any other type of subscription. This makes the feature impossible to use for people who already subscribe to the individual plan.

What business problems are you solving with the product? What benefits have you realized?

Every project that I've edited in the past 5 years or so has been completed using the Adobe Creative Suite. And because of Adobe's tight integration across software/platforms, moving between products and features is effortless.

What do you like best?

What do you dislike?

Constant updates that tend to change functionality of commonly used tools. (Illustrator)

Recommendations to others considering the product

Adobe Creative Suite is the only way to go if planning to go professional with your designs. Adobe is constantly monitoring and updating the programs, so you do not have to worry about having an out of date file. Another benefit is you can be assured that you will be able to open files from other designers and no longer have to request legacy files.

What business problems are you solving with the product? What benefits have you realized?

The programs allow you to save your work in any commonly used formats. Can import most vector graphics from any other programs with minimal to no distortion.

What do you like best?

The Adobe Creative Suite, no known as Creative Cloud is a dream come true for every graphic designer. A complete collection of tools for every need and purpose. The collection of apps, assets and stock makes life very easy. The update option is pretty easy and quick although it can slow down the system on the rare occasion. The option to discover new designs and illustrations is pretty useful as well.

What do you dislike?

There's not much to dislike. It's been built and designed pretty well. On a very rare occasion, the updates may cause the system to slow down but otherwise it's been fine so far.

Recommendations to others considering the product

If you're job/business requires designing, Adobe is the way to go. The perfect set of tools for all purposes. It can be a bit intimidating to learn at first due to it's heavy UI and massive evolution over the years but they have a very thorough help and tutorial section and YouTube is full of helpful videos that can make learning the tools very simple and easy.

What business problems are you solving with the product? What benefits have you realized?

What do you like best?

I love everything that Adobe Creative Suite can do--there is SO much functionality packaged together, if you know how to use it.

What do you dislike?

All of the Adobe programs are hard to use and non-intuitive, and there is so much functionality that it becomes hard not to get lost if you are not an expert level user. There are also a lot of issues with how Adobe products work with other products. We use Adobe RoboHelp, for example, and the biggest pain point we have is getting exports into MS Word to work correctly and not have horrible formatting issues. Also, the customer support is truly terrible.

Recommendations to others considering the product

There aren't really any good options for what Adobe does besides Adobe, so settle in and prepare for a lot of frustration and the need for a lot of training. Also, find message boards for help, because customer support from Adobe is very nearly worthless.

What business problems are you solving with the product? What benefits have you realized?

We use Creative Suite for several things, but the biggest is using Captivate and RoboHelp for online help for our application. The benefits are that we can do it--create and update decent Help.

What do you like best?

The biggest feature for me is that it IS the central hub for all of my Adobe applications and activities. The ability to centrally upgrade my apps, track my assets and search for stock content all in one place is very convenient.

What do you dislike?

My only dislike would be that on occasion the service will disconnect me and I will need to log back into the service.

Recommendations to others considering the product

While is is an integral part of any of the recent Adobe software packages sold these days, do not just install and forget about the Suite integration in relation to all Adobe software and services. It is a powerful part of the product.

What business problems are you solving with the product? What benefits have you realized?

Streamlining processes and saving time by having multiple features that I use regularly all in one application helps increase productivity.

What do you like best?

I like how everything is connected. When you work in Photoshop, those files can transfer to After Effects which then transfer to Premiere. Its very cohesive which makes it so much easier. Adobe Creative suite also lets me use multiple computers and all you have to do is sign in to your account, and I enjoy that.

What do you dislike?

It can crash frequently and that can be an issue, especially when you are knee deep in an unsaved project. I am not a fan of how if you use an upgraded program and then try to use the previous version, it won't work and an error will occur. I think you should be able to sync your project with any version that is being used.

Recommendations to others considering the product

I recommend Adobe because it is more advance and your projects will look very professional. There are so many ins and outs to these products that you can create, animate, and explore your projects. I am currently advancing my skills in After Effects and it is also teaching me through this to learn more Photoshop and Illustrator along the way.

What business problems are you solving with the product? What benefits have you realized?

Using Adobe makes for a faster work force which than can produce content faster.

What do you like best?

Powerful design and image editing tools for designers of all experience levels. In addition to the traditional design software, offers additional programs for video editing, game editing, etc.

What do you dislike?

The desktop sync features don't work well. You can have programs on multiple devices but your desktop and tool features don't seem to sync to one another, making for a bad user experience when you're switching devices. They also don't get stored in memory and usually are wiped when new iterations of the programs come out. These are minimal things, but are drawbacks from the usability of the tools.

What business problems are you solving with the product? What benefits have you realized?

We create mockups of website and app designs using Photoshop and Illustrator, as well as using InDesign for creating documentation.

What do you like best?

I can't compare it to anything else, at least that I'm aware of, with the exception of maybe the Microsoft Suite in terms of multiple applications. It allows work to seamlessly be edited from application to application and everything speaks to each other so there are consistencies across each application which is very helpful! I love the assets that are free for downloads in the Creative Cloud and use it almost every day!

What do you dislike?

If I could name one dislike it would be the fact that when I make an edit I'd like to undo you can, for example in AI or PSD, only undo one item and then have to "Step Backward" (I'm fairly new to using the program so there might be a reason for this), but everything I know has been self taught and there are probably easier ways to utilize tools but I find that the training provided is either too basic or far too advanced.

Recommendations to others considering the product

It may be expensive but it is definitely worth the investment. The possibilities for improvements across a number of programs and projects your company works on is limitless. Having the ability to utilize the tools and resources at any time is invaluable and I would highly recommend!

What business problems are you solving with the product? What benefits have you realized?

I use Adobe Photoshop for various projects, a general go-to app, Adobe Illustrator for vector graphics, app icons, etc., InDesign for printed material and marketing materials, Adobe Dreamweaver for HTML creation, and Adobe Acrobat for PDF purposes. Before I was given a license from my company I would spend hours using horrible programs and once I started using the Adobe Creative Suite I not only saved time but I produced my best work yet.

What do you like best?

I like that there is a product for every projects that I'm working on. The fact that they are all connected by the same suite makes it easy to use multiple programs together on the same project. I also like that now with Creative Cloud, you are always up to date with the latest updates in the programs.

What do you dislike?

I don't like that you can't pick and choose how many programs you actually need at difference price brackets. There are many programs that I will probably never use for my jobs, but I'm still paying for them all anyway.

What business problems are you solving with the product? What benefits have you realized?

We use Adobe Creative Suite for web management/design, as well as marketing collateral, both print and digital, solutions. The benefit is that since they are all Adobe programs, each of our team members are able to use all of the programs easily.

What do you like best?

It is fairly intuitive and makes it so easy for me to add simple graphic elements to documents make them look even more professional. I like that I can customize my own workspace, and InDesign tutorials are easy to find and usually very helpful to learn new features. The paragraph style options makes my life 100 times easier and allows for a lot of customization.

What do you dislike?

The "Save" and "Close" options are right next to each other in the "File" drop-down menu.

Recommendations to others considering the product

Take advantage of Adobe support to learn about cool features that make your work even easier to complete. I have also had so many questions answered by googling InDesign support forums.

What business problems are you solving with the product? What benefits have you realized?

I use it to make RFP responses look more professional and branded. I have so much control over everything on the page.

What do you like best?

The variety of software available is amazing. The tools provide a limitless creative experience for designers.

What do you dislike?

The shortcuts do not always overlap between the software, but they are not that hard to get used to.

Recommendations to others considering the product

If you are in the design field or looking to become a designer with a wide-ranged skillset, CS is for you. It is definitely worth the money if you make use of all the tools available. It is great for UI/UX design, visual design, graphic design, branding/marketing, motion-graphics/animation, game design, and more.

What business problems are you solving with the product? What benefits have you realized?

What do you like best?

Access to multiple apps does end up being beneficial and nice, on occasion. That's really the only think I can think of as a positive. Access to all of Adobe's software for one price.

What do you dislike?

Well, you're paying for access to all of Adobe's software at one time, which you may not need. And it's a subscription service, so it means you're locked into very expensive monthly payments in perpetuity. It's expensive, especially if you're interested in using a specific software for one month or not committing to a yearly contract. It feels like an "offer you can't refuse."

Recommendations to others considering the product

If you only need something like Photoshop, there is a photography plan for only $10/month which is worth looking into. Also, there is very high quality competing software available for photo editing and also vector graphics that are worth looking into if you only need that type of software, like Affinity Photo and Affinity Designer.

What business problems are you solving with the product? What benefits have you realized?

Again, having access to all the software is nice, when you need it. Also, it includes free online storage space.

What do you like best?

What I like the best about Adobe Creative Suite are the powerful design capabilities it gives me. The Creative Cloud continues to improve, allowing 20 gigs of data, cross-device sync, library and font sync, and the ability to use anywhere! It is the best of a web and desktop app in one! I've also really enjoyed trying out Adobe Capture for quick ideas on the go, but would really like more functionality on my Android device. iOS has the corner on this, but hopefully Adobe developers are working to get this to the Droids too!

What do you dislike?

What I dislike the most about Adobe Creative Cloud is the cost. It can be expensive if you're not using it constantly, or if you want a variety of applications, but not all of them. It would be great if there were a "build your own subscription" to go along with the more limited suites Adobe has created. One thing I've always had a complaint about is the load time of each application, and the drag it puts on your system. I feel like the load time has actually improved, but the drag is noticeable on certain computers.

Recommendations to others considering the product

If your organization has a team or staff member who is capable of utilizing Adobe Creative Suite, and you often hire designers or printers to design print collateral for you, this is a great solution. If you create lengthy documents or multiple design elements for print or web, Adobe Creative Suite will meet all your needs.

What business problems are you solving with the product? What benefits have you realized?

Having the ability to do in-house design has been an immense money saver for our organization. We can quickly proof, edit, and update our designs without having to go back and forth with a designer, or pay billable hours to a firm.

What do you like best?

The Adobe Creative Suite (Creative Cloud) is the product I currently use in my profession. I really don't know what I would do without these programs. I chiefly use Adobe Illustrator, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Photoshop, and Adobe Acrobat for my work. Each of these programs has its benefits, but all of them together make up the perfect setup. They are each beautifully designed for function as well as user ability. All of the things I need to do for work can be achieved by using one of these programs.

What do you dislike?

In the recent past, the crossover between InDesign and Illustrator has been smoother. I would like to see this transition happen with the addition of Photoshop. Some of the newer changes to Illustrator with the guides snapping to certain points is pretty irritating. There are too many points for it to snap to. I think it should just go back to snapping to main points. Other than these small issues, these programs are nearly flawless.

Recommendations to others considering the product

If you are looking for software for any type of Graphic Design, look no further. The Adobe Creative Suite (CC) is the best set of programs out there. The user interface is easy to use (once you learn some of the basics). Just give it a try. As mentioned previously, you can find out how to do anything for these programs on the internet - even on YouTube.

What business problems are you solving with the product? What benefits have you realized?

With Adobe Creative Suite (CC), I solve just about all of my business problems. I create everything using them. When starting a document for whatever, I just use InDesign. No more Microsoft word! There are just so many benefits to each of these programs. Online, you can find how to do just about anything for Graphic Design using these programs. They are just so great.

What do you like best?

What do I like best? The fact that you can pay a very low monthly amount and have access to the entire Adobe Creative Suite while running the most up-to-date versions at all times. This is just a deal you cannot beat.

What do you dislike?

I haven't found anything yet I dislike. I'm just thrilled about this product. It is literally a design studio in a box.

Recommendations to others considering the product

I remember the day when we had to purchase these products individually and load them onto your computer via disks. For a small company, the cost of each of these products could really take a toll. Combine that with future update costs it was just too much. This Creative Cloud thing is a God-send. For a reasonable (not cheap, but reasonable) monthly fee I've got all the programs I need with all the "latest and greatest" versions. I couldn't be happier. Adobe has made it affordable for the "little guy". If you are a design studio, you simply cannot afford not to go the Creative Cloud route.

What business problems are you solving with the product? What benefits have you realized?

The problems I'm solving is that I have the most recent versions of all of the programs that I use daily for a very small monthly fee. Combine that with Adobe Stock Images and I have everything I need as a small design firm. Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign, Acrobat . . . this is the best sound business decision I've made in regards to the purchase of software.

What do you like best?

Adobe creative suite is amazing. With low cost options, you literally have access to any program that you will ever need. The best part is that with all the tools under one umbrella, you can easily learn to use programs that you never would have thought about getting into. This can easily help you increase your skills and become more marketable in different areas. I also like that any time an update comes out for a program, it becomes immediately available so you are always working with the best tools possible.

What do you dislike?

I'm still learning a lot about each program and the suite itself, so right now I don't have anything that I severely dislike.

Recommendations to others considering the product

DO IT. seriously..it's amazing. Everything you'll ever need is in one nice little package. Also, if you're a video editor and you're still using final cut then I will just say you need to switch to Premiere Pro immediately. You're welcome.

What business problems are you solving with the product? What benefits have you realized?

All of them. We have an entire team of artists, audio engineers, video editors, writers, etc and every single one of us can work together using the creative suite to get the job done. What's also great about the suite is that everyone can learn at least a little bit about all of the products offered. This allows us to work together better and figure out new and creative ways to do things.

What do you like best?

I use the photography package of Adobe creative Suite - Lightroom and Photoshop. I was initially opposed to using a cloud based editing software but found that I love how you can install updates at no extra cost. It makes the monthly subscription costs worth it. It works just like the locally installed older products Adobe had with discs. But you aren't shelling out hundreds of dollars every time they come out with an upgrade by using the cloud based CS. It is simple, fast and easy to login and open programs.

What do you dislike?

As mentioned in a previous review, Lightroom tends to run slow while working with a huge batch of photos in a catalog. Other than that, the ease of making adjustments with sliders that are non destructive are great. I think making this cloud-based is less strain on computer hardware though. If only it could handle huge amounts of large photos at once, this would be perfect.

Recommendations to others considering the product

You will save money if you purchase a monthly subscription package instead of just buying a subscription to just one program (for example, the photography package with Lightroom and Photoshop together for $10 instead of just one of those for $20).

What business problems are you solving with the product? What benefits have you realized?

Being able to install creative suite on 2 computers with one subscription makes it ideal for someone like me who works from multiple computers at different places throughout the week. The design programs are also the best you can use for design and photography.

What do you like best?

If you're willing to pay Adobe's exorbitant startup costs for the software itself, it really is a fantastic set of programs. You can create almost any digital product you can think of, and in almost every category of work, Adobe's program rivals or exceeds its competitors. Adobe is responsible for nearly all of the photo editing on the internet, and is also used for most online comic strips and other vector art.

What do you dislike?

The startup cost for Adobe is pretty steep (the full suite is 600 dollars per year). If you were willing to use other online-based programs, some of which are cheap or free, you could get results 90 percent as good for 50 percent of the cost, or even less. But it's not just the monetary investment that's high; Adobe programs also aren't particularly easy to learn. To use the programs with any kind of professional efficacy can take weeks to learn, and one may even need to take classes just to understand the programs' complexity.

Recommendations to others considering the product

You've got to start erring toward simplicity of design. This isn't working for you right now, and you will lose business.

What business problems are you solving with the product? What benefits have you realized?

We use to use Adobe for graphic design back when the programs had a one-time, static price. However, since we were doing mostly graphic design, we started using Canva because it is essentially free and much easier to learn. We now have people learning how to do mid-level graphic design in a matter of hours instead of weeks, and it's costing us next to nothing.

What do you like best?

The subscription-based service allows for new updates and features as they become available, unlike having to pay for version upgrades in the past. I love always getting the new elements of the various programs.

What do you dislike?

Sometimes there seems to be an attempt to cram too much into a program, or creating a new program altogether for something that could've been done inside an existing program. There needs to be a little more rhyme/reason to that screening process on the development end.

Recommendations to others considering the product

If you are unfamiliar with basic photo or document editing software programs, then this could seem like a lot to learn. The nuances and tricks of the programs have a bit of a learning curve, but overall, the programs are easy enough to work with, and accomplish the tasks well.

What business problems are you solving with the product? What benefits have you realized?

I am able to accomplish my job as a graphic designer in an efficient manner. There is a reason this is an industry-standard product. It works well, and the programs/interfaces work together relatively seamlessly.

What do you like best?

I was really scared to move the subscription format of purchasing software vs. having the actual discs (I'm old school) but I having used Creative Suite for 15+ years I love the progressive nature of Creative Cloud. There fear compatibility issues disappears and with allows freelance/self employed creatives to stay current in their fields and tools without taking courses. (The great video training Adobe offers helps with this as well.)

What do you dislike?

I find the Creative Cloud app itself can be a bit of a memory leak for your Mac. It doesn't need to be running to use your programs so I always try to make sure it's closed when using memory intensive programs like Illustrator or Photoshop.

Recommendations to others considering the product

Stay current on updates and take the to watch Adobe's tutorial videos. They package intro's, specific tasks and new features into short, easy to digest videos that will quickly expand your skill and knowledge level.

What business problems are you solving with the product? What benefits have you realized?

My business runs on Creative Suite - it's my #1 tool like hammer to carpenter. I don't know what I would do without it and the benefits are numerous but mostly what I've stated above - it really keeps independent working creatives current without having to drop thousands of dollars at once every few years.

What do you like best?

I do not use the entire creative suite, my main go-to programs are Illustrator, InDesign, Photoshop, Acrobat & Dreamweaver. I have experience in Muse and Bridge, but not too much. What I like best is how (most of the time) the programs work so seamlessly together.

What do you dislike?

I do not like how in some programs something works one way, and in another it works differently. It makes it confusing when switching between programs. One example is the Shape Builder tool in Illustrator (which I am super comfortable with) vs. the Pathfinder tool in InDesign (not so much). Sometimes I think to myself, wow if I was in Illustrator I would have had this done 5 minutes ago.

Another example is Save As vs. Export in all the programs. It's different in each one, which is frustrating.

On a personal note, one thing that is difficult for me is the cost of the entire suite. My current employer pays for the programs, and I am able to have the suite on my personal computer, but if I should switch jobs or suddenly become unemployed, I would have no way of accessing files, and the monthly cost is out of my budget.

Also, I have not been able to access the Adobe forums in months. This is super annoying and makes customer service all but impossible for me.

Recommendations to others considering the product

All the programs in the suite are the best of the best, and the capabilities are endless. This is a top notch product.

What business problems are you solving with the product? What benefits have you realized?

Our company is a publishing and marketing firm. I specifically work in the Creative division. I, along with a team of 4 other designers, work in the Creative Suite on a daily basis. The Creative division was only created about 7 years ago, so I believe we have always used the Adobe programs. The benefits are obviously vast, mainly being that all of us work in the same programs and that the programs work well together.

What do you like best?

The Adobe Creative Suite is by far the easiest solution to anyone looking to migrate away from Final Cut. The applications integrate seamlessly with each other and make the entire post-production process a breeze. I've heard a lot of complaints about the new monthly fee structure, but I personally think it's a better solution. It allows business to work the regular monthly charge into their budget, rather than having to fork over a huge upgrade cost every few years. Plus, as new features are added, they're made available right away rather than having to wait for the next major version release.

What do you dislike?

I've noticed the occasional bug pop up, but all in all, it's a very stable system.

Recommendations to others considering the product

Don't be afraid to make the switch from FCP. Premiere even has FCP7 shortcuts built in if you need them.

What business problems are you solving with the product? What benefits have you realized?

We transitioned to Creative Suite after deciding to move away from Final Cut 7, since it was no longer able to get new licenses, and Apple wouldn't be supporting it in future OS's. The seamless integration with other applications in the suite has sped up our previous workflow which consisted of editing in FCP, adding graphics in After Effects, and mixing audio in Logic. Now we can quickly move back and forth between applications, and all changes are automatically updated.

What do you like best?

It's hard to say what I like best, as I have been using Adobe CS for many years and versions now.

The ability to add my software to many computers under my license for my use vs having to license multiple computers for use is a huge cost saver.

The cloud storage is exceedingly useful for working on multiple systems on the same project(s) and having it integrate directly vs saving to a thumbdrive or an external online service.

The usual upgrades and update to the software within the suite, and always being on the newest versions of the software.

What do you dislike?

I do miss "having" the software, as in purchasing the software / license and that be the only purchase unless I choose to update the software to a newer version instead of paying for a subscription to the software. Constant flow of money going out and it just feels more like I'm renting the software.

Recommendations to others considering the product

Creative Suite includes everything, or at least nearly, that Adobe has to offer so you may want to ensure you don't just need a specific piece of software such as Photoshop or Acrobat, as getting those individually may be cheaper and easier.

What business problems are you solving with the product? What benefits have you realized?

Being able to design / modify logos, business cards, signature blocks, edit video footage, edit or create audio tracks, etc in-house instead of paying an outside source to perform these tasks for us. This saves the company money and time, and also allows for a bit more creative control on how things look.

What do you like best?

I have been using Adobe Creative Suite for a long time and i like the versatility of the softwares, you can have everything from photography editing to sound design, i like the idea of having all the package and that I could work and learn from all of them or at least some of them. it is great for working in graphic design, web design, motion graphic and related areas.

What do you dislike?

There are not many things i disliked from the software, it is pretty useful, it is definitely better now with the CC but some of the thing that annoys me is the price is very expensive, especially for people that work as freelance, or in other countries besides USA it was hard to buy.

What business problems are you solving with the product? What benefits have you realized?

It is my primary tool for working in graphic design, web design, interaction design and more, the quality depends on the way you use the softwares but there are many resources that you can use to improve and create, it is very adaptable to your needs and resourceful for different projects.

What do you like best?

Adobe Creative Suite is the professional choice for desktop publishing, some web design and development work and has respectable tools for audio and motion projects. I am going to review the Creative Suite itself rather than the different programs within it for this review. There is something to say for each of the parts of the Suite by themselves. Learning one program, Illustrator, Photoshop or InDesign helps in learning the others due to the consistent application of similar interface elements and processes. The quality of the software is good. There are many types of files that can be imported and used and many ways to export to usable file types. The software links up with a wide variety of things in the world as well, like printing presses.

I love that the Suite has so many programs to investigate. They all work together so having them together is nice. Granted, there is a cost to that, which I address in the dislike section.

What do you dislike?

A lot of things bug me about Adobe Creative Suite. First of all, the pricing structure. No matter who you are or how much you use it, the one monthly price is tough to swallow for some people and once you buy in, you have to stay in to be able to access all the work you have created. Full disclosure, I teach at a university and am eligible for a reduced monthly fee and I still find it to be very expensive. For students, if they need to keep the software on their own laptops, it seems prohibitive; though I like that they have access to all the different programs.

I have been using Adobe products since 1988 so I have seen a lot of change in those decades. In the early years I found it difficult to learn the programs. There was a strong push in the early 2000's where it seems that they were focusing on making everything easy to learn, sometimes to the detriment of advanced users. Now it seems like the trend is reversing. Some of the complexity is creeping back in here and there. I notice it a lot when teaching novices who can struggle with concepts behind the interface, like the difference between vector and pixel, that dictates the behavior of the tools.

Once upon a time Adobe did a lot of work making all the interface elements appear the same, even in cases where it didn't really work out well. The eraser tool in Photoshop and Illustrator is one example. In Photoshop it erases pixels taking them away the way a white board eraser does. In Illustrator the eraser redraws the vector shape. It doesn't make sense as an eraser. Now there seems to be a willingness to experiment with the interfaces of the programs. The way Photoshop moves an image within a window, sliding to a stop rather than adhering to the movement of the mouse or stylus is novel and sometimes annoying to me. Acrobat has an entirely new interface that is completely different from the old one and from any other Adobe product. Every time I open it I struggle to get my bearings, in a program that I love and use a lot for things that Adobe apparently does not think are important to support.

I've had trouble using the downloading feature to update programs. It seemed confusing. I didn't know if I was downloading what I wanted or if it had worked. Since I use this for work, frequent downloads of new software feels like a distraction I would like to have control over and, more importantly, do not want to have interfere with my progress or negatively affect my deadlines.

Another thing that I don't like much is the reliance on the Bridge. I avoid it in favor of keeping track of my files, organizing my work and having a plan to not lose things. Part of the challenge for me is carrying my files from place to place for teaching classes in different computer labs that do not allow access from outside. I know that one day operating systems will abandon the hierarchical file systems we use now and the Bridge will then become more valuable to me. In the meantime, I don't really get any real benefit from the Bridge and I don't teach students to rely on it either. In our labs the operating systems reset to a default on every restart so anything in the Bridge would be lost (I assume but haven't tested it).

And why do I need to dismiss a window with an ad on it in order to work. Every time I have to do that I am disgusted. If the software was free then maybe. It adds a step, distracts my focus and stops my files from opening so I have to open them again. I do not remember what those ad screens are about at all. So Adobe has annoyed me for no practical reason at all.

The new workspace presets do not work for me and especially they don't work for students. It is so confusing for the interface to remove things and not be able to get them back the same way. This might be in the way my school installs the programs that makes it worse but I can't tell by looking at it and if I can't tell I can't get it fixed.

Recommendations to others considering the product

I say Adobe Creative Suite is not headed in the right direction at this point because it seems to be in a bit of chaos. At some level I really love the entire world of tools Adobe has created. Maybe that makes me more critical than I might otherwise be. I find myself often saying, "apparently Adobe thinks this is an improvement. In my opinion, Illustrator 10 was as close to perfect as it ever was. Ever since then, it seems like the features I rely on, like the drawing tool - the fundamental process in the program, have been compromised while marginally interesting features have been added.

Making the programs harder to use feels like a choice that must be made. When they were getting easier to use I always felt like Adobe did not care about me, an advanced user, much. Now it seems like they focus a lot on things that don't really improve the programs; things that they can talk up but who cares. What would I like? What would I think is the right direction? Effective tools that work, not break something to add something new. Don't change keyboard shortcuts if possible. Relearning a shortcut has taken me years to get right once it is changed. More friendly pricing structures.

What do you like best?

being a subscription you always get the latest version as they com out so no having to purchase new versions each ear

What do you dislike?

there is so much there it is a bit hard to know where to start. other than that is it was it is.

Recommendations to others considering the product

there is so much with in the package take some time to look through it all. get to know the main packages (Photoshop illustrator etc) then go through the other offerings. as that way you will have a beater understanding of there integration etc

What business problems are you solving with the product? What benefits have you realized?

we use it to finish visuals and create motion graphics also in house graphic designers us it for branding materials and asset creation.

What do you like best?

I would recommend the creative suite to any designer like myself. It's really the only option when it comes to these programs.

What do you dislike?

However, the monopoly on the design market means that we are paying a ridiculous amount of money. I can either subscribe to two assets (in my case Photoshop and Illustrator) for $40 or buy the entire suite for slightly more. I miss being able to invest in software for the year.

What business problems are you solving with the product? What benefits have you realized?

The only real perk is the constant updates - but it also feels like Microsoft Office with all those constant updates. (Every one is "critical" and you're getting update notices when you log in every time). It can also be a little difficult to learn the new functions.

What do you like best?

This has everything you need in terms of a design agency with Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Dreamweaver and more. And now it ties in more options like Brackets and Typekit to help with different solutions.

What do you dislike?

Pricing is a little high and the load times for all the programs are super slow. Updates seem to be lacking quality builds.

Recommendations to others considering the product

Adobe has a great suite available and they continue to add more and more products to it that are only going to benefit what the other software is missing (Experience Design, Brackets, etc). They'll keep improving their products and their new ones will be amazing.

What business problems are you solving with the product? What benefits have you realized?

Better collaboration with our whole team using the creative suite (creative cloud) we've been able to share libraries and branding across the team.

What do you like best?

This software package has something for all creatives, novice and professional alike. I am a professional photographer by trade with a strong interest in cinematography. I have almost all of my professional needs met using this software bundle. I could not do a single thing that I do on a day to day basis without this software.

Photoshop and Lightroom are programs that I would mourn dreadfully if I could no longer use them. They are an essential parts of my day-to-day work. I do not know what I would do without them.

What do you dislike?

To be completely honest the software itself is wonderful. The pricing package leaves something to be desired. What I would love to see is the reintroduction of the "bundles" that previous versions of Adobe software were broken into. While I personally find the cost worth it because I use it for my every day work, I can definitely see where it would be a barrier for many people.

Recommendations to others considering the product

When considering a Creative cloud subscription be careful to evaluate your needs. The software is honestly quite pricey and unless you have the need for more that 3 pieces of software I would pause to consider whether its worth the cost. I find it to be extremely useful and worth the cost but I can definitely see where it can be a burden as well.

What business problems are you solving with the product? What benefits have you realized?

My professional life would come to a standstill without Adobe Creative Cloud. Lightroom and Photoshop are my primary tools every day and they help me produce work in a timely, efficient manner.

What do you like best?

Creative Cloud is a bundle of incredibly useful and powerful software. Each product provides more than enough tools for a graphic designer or prepress technician to get the job done. I like the fact that there is a somewhat seamless integration between the various products, and the cloud based nature of the subscription allows you to always stay updated with the latest version of the software you are using.

What do you dislike?

There is not too much to dislike about CC. I do think the subscription model might be expensive and a turn off to those that may not need every single product available in the bundle. I also experienced some software crashing when our systems got upgraded to OSX El Capitan (Photoshop in particular), but recent updates alleviated some of the problems we saw.

Recommendations to others considering the product

I would review the subscription model to ensure that it gives you your money's worth. It could be a better option to buy one or two of Adobe's products upfront rather than pay a monthly fee for software you won't use.

What business problems are you solving with the product? What benefits have you realized?

Our company uses Photoshop, Bridge, InDesign and Illustrator daily and you truly get a great value from the monthly subscription. We receive hundreds of files per day from different clients, in may different formats and file types. CC gives us the ability to handle everyone single one of them with ease and the multitude of tools available to us through the software is irreplaceable. Bridge is especially useful in identifying file information and we use the batch rename tool a lot, so it comes in useful when dealing with image management and organization.

What do you like best?

Adobe Creative Suite is most significant in that it is a soup-to-nuts, comprehensive system for the creative professional. Web design? Done. Video editing? Done. Motion graphics? Done.

Creative Suite handles all your needs and then some. The products are nimble, powerful, and highly intuitive; redefining the tools that the creative industry uses and innovating relentless.

What do you dislike?

Adobe Creative Suite has many extraneous tools that are less-than-intuitive, or whose purpose is unclear for the creative. The bellwethers of Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere and AfterEffects are consistent, but other, more niche tools (Muse) are less for the professional; and feel more like an 'experiment' by Adobe at trying something new.

Recommendations to others considering the product

Creative Suite moved to Creative Cloud, a subscription-based service which means updates for single-purchase licenses grow stagnant and nonexistent. This is fine insofar as the framework for implementation never changes -- but this is bad news overall. On the upside, the subscription model for updates and support means more consistency and hopefully better, more fully-featured products as time goes on. However, we have experienced issues with piecemeal updates to some products and not others, necessitating uninstallation at points.

What business problems are you solving with the product? What benefits have you realized?

We output live video production and accompanying graphics at weekly events, and depend upon Adobe Creative Suite products to produce promotional materials with mercurial speed and efficiency. Whether it's video editing, Photoshopped still-image tie-ins, or animated logos, CS is there for us and our needs.

What do you like best?

Always operating with the current software. No need to re-buy every year or two. Super convenient that I can access my files at work and at home using the Cloud. And can use the license on both my work computer and home computer! Makes last-minute work from home easier, or easier to finish up a project over the weekend!

What do you dislike?

A little pricey for the limited number of softwares we use; but more cost-effective than upgrading every couple years.

Recommendations to others considering the product

Its great if you use it daily. You'll get your money's worth. If you only use a select couple programs or don't mind waiting every couple years to update your software, then it may be a little too pricey for you.

What business problems are you solving with the product? What benefits have you realized?

Always up to date. Files can be large, so emailing a file home to complete isn't possible. So with the cloud feature, I can not only access my files but access my software as well!

What do you like best?

The updates are frequent and I don't have to shell out close to $1k to update to the latest greatest version. All of the included freebies like, TypeKit and Behance are a great way to get fonts added directly into my font list, without having to go through downloading and installing. Behance is a great place to look when you have run into a creative roadblock or just need inspiration.

What do you dislike?

Some products are updated more than others, they need to focus on updating everything on a more consistent basis instead of on of the big 3 (ID, PS, IL).

What business problems are you solving with the product? What benefits have you realized?

We use adobe creative suite to make anything from our logos to banners for our annual 5k charity run that we do as a company

What do you like best?

I like that the newest version of the Creative Suite is becoming more and more integrated with each other, and it is making it easier to go from application to application to create the projects that I am wishing to create.

What do you dislike?

The only real beef I have with this application is with the pricing - that Adobe is beginning to price themselves out of use for the small business.

Recommendations to others considering the product

When you commit to this, go all the way!

What business problems are you solving with the product? What benefits have you realized?

I am using this for photo work, assorted layouts, and for vector design. For what my clients are wanting, we're not using the online apps to it's fullest.

What do you like best?

All in one package, licensing for 2 or more machines per user, intuitive UI, very rich in features, gets updated pretty often, has some mobile apps (can't compare to desktop though)

What do you dislike?

Software for Mac is probably less optimized than for Windows, the Creative Cloud app itself freezes or fails to get updates, pricing, slow performance, some plugins don't work after updates

Recommendations to others considering the product

Consider different packages — you might not need full options offered by different subscriptions. Make sure you have powerful hardware as all Adobe apps heavily consume RAM and CPU

What business problems are you solving with the product? What benefits have you realized?

We are using Photoshop and Dreamweaver mostly to create emails, landing pages, and web forms. We also use Acrobat DC to create and edit PDF files and Bridge/Lightroom to work with photos, some time ago used After Effects and Premiere for video editing

What do you like best?

There is no question that for raw power and capability, the Adobe creative suite is the best in the world. I use LightRoom on a weekly basis, and the results always impress me. Once you learn their quirky UI patterns, it all works pretty well. So, I am certainly addicted.

What do you dislike?

All the Adobe software has a really unusual approach to usability which I have never really gotten used to. It is definitely an "expert" software, meaning that you are expected to dedicate an amount of time to learning to use it, and then it probably works very well. But, beginners beware. If you are used to software from Microsoft, Apple, and everyone else, with Ui patterns that are designed to bring novice users into the fold, then beware. This approach is not for the novice. That is really the only real problem I have had.

Recommendations to others considering the product

If you are a professional in the field, you can hardly go wrong. If you are an occasional dabbler, you might want to think carefully. In general this is not for the casual user. I am not trying to say that it is difficult to learn. If you use it a couple hours a day regularly, anyone can learn to use it. But if you are casual, using it only an hour a month, you might find it a challenge to obtain the mastery because it really is not designed to be easy for the novice.

What business problems are you solving with the product? What benefits have you realized?

Handling and processing large numbers of photos. Any avid photographer has this problem, and it solves the problem admirably.

What do you like best?

I use Illustrator, Photoshop, Acrobat and Lightroom just about every day, and InDesign and Premiere somewhat less than that. I love the way that all of them work together so seamlessly. I'm really excited for Project Comet to come out.

What do you dislike?

It always takes more setup than you'd think to transfer work between different people/computers. Someone's got an old version of something, or you packaged your links wrong, or you packaged them right but you still have to click on every individual instance to relink it, etc.

Recommendations to others considering the product

Learn all the tricks! Go to Lynda and skim some tutorials. I always find something handy that I missed. Also, I can't wait for Project Comet to come out so I can stop leaving the suite when I want to prototype interactions and state changes.

What business problems are you solving with the product? What benefits have you realized?

Once my team got synced correctly to the same versions of the software and the same libraries and everything, it was easy for us to collaborate, keep track of the latest versions of whatever we're working on, and efficiently come up with a final product.

What do you like best?

The combination of Photoshop, Illustrator, and inDesign allow the creating of web content, catalog content, and ad content a fully array of custom options to both visually and for technically provide the best working or distributed files. The Creative Cloud licenses allow our personnel to access licenses from multiple platforms with only the use of a login.

What do you dislike?

There are few negatives that can be associated with Adobe products. The only few criticisms I would contribute would be that it is pretty difficult to learn for a novice member and there is an occasional potential for difficulty in working with large files. There are programs such as inDesign which can optimize content when working, but this is not always the preferred software to edit say web content. Illustrator does okay to optimize content but tends to be difficult to work with multiple large art-boards. You could bypass this by creating multiple AI files but again, this is a cumbersome solution for file management.

Recommendations to others considering the product

If you're a novice, use as many training tools as possible. Professionals should consider Cloud licensing due to ease of use on multiple platforms and ease of upgrading.

What business problems are you solving with the product? What benefits have you realized?

Usability and collaboration with colleagues for effective content creation.

What do you like best?

I love the fact that the programs are so universal. They allow you to create designs easily and save them out an a large variety of formats with tons of options to specify how you need it. It allows design for web, print and anything in between. I highly recommend it to any designers that want to create professional products.

What do you dislike?

I feel like the programs "crash" a bit too often. And usually when you're trying to save it, so that causes some issues.

Recommendations to others considering the product

I would recommend learning the "big three" Photoshop, InDesign, and Illustrator. That can get you pretty far in almost any design job and allow you to create very impressive work.

What business problems are you solving with the product? What benefits have you realized?

What do you like best?

I consider Adobe Creative Suite an essential tool to have now in creating my illustration and design work. I also use it for my day job, so it pretty much earns me a living. There is so much you can do with this software, and it has become essential to the industry. The editing capabilities are top notch and the colors are endless. The option to work in layers and the variety of presets you can set for yourself is wonderful. If you work in the design world or are entering art school, you need Adobe Softwares.

What do you dislike?

Since the Creative Cloud has come out, they sort of gouge you on prices. As a subscription, it can be hard to afford for an independent designer and I always liked having it as a hard copy. I'm glad I jumped on the bandwagon early enough to buy it on disk. The more layers your work with in Photoshop, the slower the software runs, but thats sort of expected. Sometimes Illustrator and InDesign can take a while to open and close. Other than that I don't really have many complaints. It's the best tool I have other than my laptop.

Recommendations to others considering the product

Be prepared to pay a subscription fee now. Also don't get frustrated if your a beginner. It can be hard to grasp at first but once you learn it, there are endless things you can do and having the skill set is extremely valuable.

What business problems are you solving with the product? What benefits have you realized?

I use Adobe Creative Suite almost everyday, as I do my own personal design work and I also work for a company that requires us to use it. It is essential for my pre-press position.

What do you like best?

At $50/month for pretty much every creation product from Adobe is an incredible value for users that need world class products for design. As a marketer with pretty decent design skills (or at least the ability to modify assets that come from full-fledge designers), I deal with a lot of different types of assets (video, images, vector art, datasheets, whitepapers, web) and rather than grab some value tool that might be cheaper, but have to stitch it together with another tool, it's offers tremendous peace of mind to simply open that particular application, make the tweaks, and publish, or grab one element in Illustrator, turn it into a 3D animation in AfterEffects or when someone just needs a logo icon to produce something quickly in PhotoShop. They all work well together for the most part.

What do you dislike?

I think for most people, the suite can be daunting. Mastering one application can take years. Attempting to master them all? Impossible. I'm guessing no one at Adobe can even be that awesome. So people may feel, "Hey, I only use 3 or 4 of the applications. why should I pay full price?" I also run on a pretty powerful Macbook, but loading can be a little slow. There are some inconsistencies across applications from a UI perspective, and some basic "why didn't they include SVG imports into PhotoShop" type issues.

Recommendations to others considering the product

The value is definitely there in terms of access to world class design tools. And honestly, if you don't like it after trying it, you can stop your subscription, but chances are, you'll be addicted to the power.

What business problems are you solving with the product? What benefits have you realized?

I have multiple creative assets to deal with for multiple mediums. Having an on switch to edit any of them whenever I need to regardless of what they are is empowering. It also makes me a bit of a "superstar" in any organization I work for because we don't have to employ an agency for modifications of content.

What do you like best?

I love that it's all in one spot! I don't have to search for the programs Im needing to use, theyre all easily accessible! I love that I don't have to spend money on 1 version of each of the programs. I feel like I get my money worth with this suite for as much as I use it!

What do you dislike?

I actually don't dislike anything about it. I love this suite. The only thing I guess that annoys me sometimes is the constant logging in that I have to do even on my personal computer, but that's just tedious.

Recommendations to others considering the product

Just think about how much you would be spending on each individual program....then think about how updates wouldn't be as easy to acquire. Then find the best plan for you. All of them are worth the price in comparison to what you could be paying for each individual program. If it weren't for the Creative Suite, I truly don't think that I would even buy multiple Adobe programs by itself. I'd probably just have Illustrator since it's what I use most. But, I love being able to use and try the other programs this suite offers!

What business problems are you solving with the product? What benefits have you realized?

I use this suite for so many things at my job and in my side projects! I use this to create graphics for events that we put on at our store as well as editing images for social media posts, and creating signs. The benefit is that I am able to work fluidly within several programs at a time and get what I need to get done, done.

What do you like best?

I like that the adobe products are similar in the layout of the work space. I often change between Photoshop, InDesign and Illustrator while working on a project so I don't have to adjust to using one program or another. Also, using only Adobe products, I never have to worry about compatibility issues.

What do you dislike?

Some of the Adobe programs seem to be needlessly complicated. I wish they would release a simpler version of some of their programs or that the workspace was even more customizable than it already it.

Also, photoshop has a tendency to crash when working on large scale products. I have a very high powered computer and plenty of RAM but for whatever reason, Photoshop does not do well with large format files. I've taken to using Illustrator and doing everything as a vector which is a hassle.

Recommendations to others considering the product

Take the time to look up tutorials. These programs can do some amazing things if you'll take the time to learn how to do them properly.

What business problems are you solving with the product? What benefits have you realized?

Adobe products are the only tools (aside from my actual computer) that I use as a freelance graphic designer. The Adobe products are easy to learn and using them helps me to create professional work.

What do you like best?

Awesome collection of products. Like that it's in the cloud and when you purchase you have access to the full range of Adobe products, all which integrate with each other.

What do you dislike?

What's not to like?! Perhaps there are too many products and I don't know how to use half of them...

Recommendations to others considering the product

Perfect suite of tools for any type of designer: print, web, multimedia. Makes you want to learn more and to become creative in new ways.

What business problems are you solving with the product? What benefits have you realized?

Everything from packaging, collateral, advertising, environmental graphic, social graphics, web pages, web graphics, logos, icons, illustrations, just to name a few... Is there anything this suite of products can't handle?

What do you like best?

Being able to download applications directly using the Adobe Creative Suite app is extremely helpful. I also like the fluid layouts across apps, a lot of thought has been put into Design and UI/UX elements. Files able to be used across apps, which is very helpful when working on larger scale projects. Adobe Creative Suite makes it easy for users with multiple skill levels to use.

What do you dislike?

Although the Adobe Creative Suite is beautiful in terms of design and UX/UI, it is also extremely resource heavy and expensive. I've had to upgrade multiple systems to reach the requirements of apps packaged with the Adobe Creative Suite. Also, for a small/medium business trying to keep low overheads, the Adobe Creative Suite is by far the most expensive software we use as a business. An improvement would be to lower the amount of resources each app requires, and to lower the price of the package subscription. I have not yet used the cloud functionality as the files I am dealing with tend to be too large and therefore cloud storage does not seem to be an efficient tool.

Recommendations to others considering the product

Adobe Creative Suite can be a learning curve - whether you're learning Adobe software for the first time, or upgrading from a previous version. Take your time with learning the suite.

What business problems are you solving with the product? What benefits have you realized?

Having the suite at the tip of my fingers has become an essential element in business. The Adobe Creative Suite is my most used software package as a business.

What do you like best?

Adobe Creative Suite is the essential, industry-standard software for all things creative. The integration between software titles is generally seamless. I can't imagine doing my job -- with as high a level of quality and with as much efficiency without using Adobe Creative Suite.

What do you dislike?

I feel that some Adobe software titles are more intuitive and user-friendly than others, making the user experience uneven across Adobe Creative Suite products. Also, for young designers, the cost can be a bit prohibitive at first, though the investment pays off many times over -- especially now with a range of Adobe Creative Cloud membership levels available.

What do you like best?

For graphic designers, the Adobe Creative Suite is THE software to use. The integration between Photoshop, InDesign, and Illustrator makes my digital work space more efficient and much faster. I enjoy the updates that come on a regular basis and the upgrades that they provide on a regular basis.

What do you dislike?

Per my other reviews, the new pricing structure of the Adobe Creative Cloud is prohibitive for freelancers or small businesses - they have made it so that you have no choice but to spend the $55/month; so we are at Adobe's mercy. In the design world, Adobe is the industry standard - so the only way to have the tools you need is to pay over $600 a year for the software. Before you could purchase the Creative Suite and you owned it - now if you do not maintain the subscription fee, you are unable to even use the software.

Recommendations to others considering the product

If you can afford it, it's worth it for a graphic designer.

What business problems are you solving with the product? What benefits have you realized?

With the exception of a few PowerPoint projects, all of my projects are designed through the Creative Suite - I could not do my job without it. Again, I am not the hugest fan of the subscription model and the price point - but I have no choice but to pay it - otherwise I would not have the tools I need to do my job.

What do you like best?

I have been purchasing the Adobe Master Collection for work since ~ 2002. This is a less expensive way to always stay on the latest and greatest adobe software.

What do you dislike?

I downloaded the master collection trial and then did the creative cloud and it wouldn't allow me to just put in my cloud license. I had to re-download all of the software through the cloud app. Not a big deal, just kind of annoying.

Recommendations to others considering the product

Without a doubt, Adobe is the king of design software. I love photoshop, illustrator, and after effects. I can't imagine being a designer without them. Dreamweaver is pretty useless to me, but getting the entire suite for $50 a month is pretty fantastic.

What business problems are you solving with the product? What benefits have you realized?

I use the Adobe Creative Suite for everything from web design to Ad design/brochures, video editing, and animation. The ability to purchase them as a suite and pay monthly is absolutely fabulous.

What do you like best?

The Adobe Creative Suite is a powerful array of tools that gives the user a lot to work with. The tools also work well together, and a lot can be done using just this suite.

What do you dislike?

The suite is not intuitive. There is a big learning curve when figuring out the individual programs. Also, I dislike being forced into the subscription service, and I suspect that others might feel the same. Not everyone is going to need every tool, but it makes better financial sense to buy the entire package rather than one or two at a time. I also dislike that I will have to rebuy this every year.

What business problems are you solving with the product? What benefits have you realized?

I am happy that I have such a dynamic toolbox; it is helping me edit and design some interesting graphics for my lessons.

What do you like best?

I love that with these programs, I can do anything. This suite is very well rounded and allows me all the flexibility I need to get my job done.

What do you dislike?

What I dislike is that in order to have access to the four programs I need, I have to subscribe to the cloud and make a monthly payment for the full suite. I love the cloud aspect, and I'm ok with subscriptions too, but there should be a partial option for limited access to the full suite.

Recommendations to others considering the product

It's a great tool and is absolutely necessary for running your creative business. It's more than worth the monthly subscription fee.

What business problems are you solving with the product? What benefits have you realized?

This software allows me to create literally anything I need for my creative business...or at least try to anyway.

What do you like best?

As a small company, this solution was perfect for us. I really like how we can always have the latest and most up to date software. This solution was also a lot more budget friendly for us as we have a low monthly cost that is ongoing instead of having to constantly have to try and get approvals for large amounts for new upgrades.

What do you dislike?

There is not much that we dislike about the Creative Suite, everything has been pretty seamless. One issue we did run into is that we have some plug-ins that weren't ready for the new versions and I had employees update to the new version and it was very hard to go back to the old version. This does create more pressure on plug-in software providers to get up-to-date versions out for the new versions more quickly than they used to.

Recommendations to others considering the product

be careful when using 3rd party plug-ins as users will handle their own upgrades

What business problems are you solving with the product? What benefits have you realized?

We had the problem of keeping our graphics people on the latest and greatest Adobe software without going to finance and getting budget approvals... this newer way of monthly costs is a lot more budget friendly way for smaller companies.

What do you like best?

I love that the core functionality of the software hasn't drastically changed but they've made small functionality and UI improvements. It's great that each program has it's specific niche but they works really well together. I can literally create anything I want, easily, thanks to the suite.

What do you dislike?

There are some inconsistencies between the products . Example: shortcut keys aren't always the same in Photoshop versus Illustrator.

Recommendations to others considering the product

I have no hesitations to recommending Creative Suite to anyone. It's great for so many applications and industries.

What business problems are you solving with the product? What benefits have you realized?

What do you like best?

Everything. I love that the apps integrate with each other. I love the online storage. Typekit integration. Mobile apps. The whole thing is just super tight, and i LOVE that i have constantly updated apps for a totally affordable monthly fee, as opposed to the old licensing model.

What do you dislike?

The only thing i dislike is that i still dont take advantage of a lot of the apps and services available through this subscription because i dont know what they do yet!

Recommendations to others considering the product

Do it. If you are designing or developing for web or print and not using this suite, you are missing out.

What business problems are you solving with the product? What benefits have you realized?

I'm designing for print and the web. I'm storing and sharing documents. The benefits are huge. I'm saving a tremendous amount of time because all the tools i need for every aspect of design, development, and testing, are in one place.

What do you like best?

Allows me to keep getting the latest products without having to shell out hundreds for every update. Ligthroom is a great tool for managing photos after a shoot, and photoshop is great if you need that extra power editing of a particular photo.

What do you dislike?

Only being able to install on 2 devices at a time is silly. Also the synchronization with "the cloud" isn't really there, as you have to manually back up your catalogs and photos elsewhere still. Lightroom mobile is a start, but it's not really fully featured yet.

Recommendations to others considering the product

It's worth at least a month trial, but stick with it. It gets easier to use as you continue to work with it.

What business problems are you solving with the product? What benefits have you realized?

What do you like best?

The entire Suite of programs are designed for artistic people doing artistic things and the sky is the limit where creativity meets technology.

What do you dislike?

When some software is updated, the shortcuts or workflow that I am used gets changed and I find that annoying. However, I have also found that when some of what I have gotten used to is lost, there is much more gained so for the most part it evens out.

Recommendations to others considering the product

Cost is a consideration depending on your needs.

What business problems are you solving with the product? What benefits have you realized?

I use Adobe Creative Suite mainly for graphic and web design. Illustrator, PhotoShop, DreamWeaver and InDesign are all heavily used in my department and it allows us visual a final product.

What do you like best?

The updates are seamless, the products are world class and the pricing is unbelievable. We're a small startup that does most of our branding in-house, which is why this tool is so useful to use. Can you build what we need and ship quality branding materials without having to pay for external contractors or agencies to do it for us.

What do you dislike?

The process of logging in online and syncing fonts and some project specifics is sometimes clunky, but for the most part it's great. I would like to see a more seamless movement between all of the Adobe products as well.

Recommendations to others considering the product

We use it for the basics - Acrobat, Photoshop and Illustrator. And even for just those three the value is evident.

What do you like best?

The applications want to work with each other seamlessly, and they do. You should expect easy transition between any of the programs in the suite, and support for any and all individually and collaboratively.

What do you dislike?

the subscription based model makes this hard to suggest to others. it also feels gimmicky to offer an education discount that only lasts for a calendar year, then bumps up to the regular price.

Recommendations to others considering the product

if you can afford it, use it.

What business problems are you solving with the product? What benefits have you realized?

we strive to teach our students on the most current industry standard platforms, and this fits the bill across the board.

What do you like best?

A ton of software to choose from. I like that CS has apps for the iPad Pro. CS is FINALLY starting to listen to the design community and build apps that we will find useful.

What do you dislike?

Very expensive and you can only get this software as a subscription instead of paying a flat fee. I dont need or use all the programs in the Suite but its still take up a HUGE amount of memory on your computer which is a downfall. There are alot of other design software options that are just as good and less expensive.

Recommendations to others considering the product

if you are designer at some point in time you will need to use some of the software in the Creative suite.

What business problems are you solving with the product? What benefits have you realized?

There is not a comparable software to PS and Illustrator. I use these all the time and they are becoming more modern and robust.

What do you like best?

Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign, constant improvement of the programs. The programs work together nicely, very easy to create a document cover in Photoshop and/or Illustrator, then transfer over to InDesign for the text layout

What do you dislike?

Can't complain much; price is high but you get top quality programs.

What business problems are you solving with the product? What benefits have you realized?

Library feature allows me to transfer graphic assets and color profiles between programs; very helpful to maintain a strong brand.

What do you like best?

The single best thing about the Creative Suite is the integration across products. Adobe has certainly gone to great effort to ensure that their applications function well as a whole. I'm not often left wondering how to pass assets from one application to another. I also appreciate their recent efforts in the mobile space. It is now much easier to concept on your mobile device and send those thoughts, sketches and wireframes to your desktop apps for refining.

What do you dislike?

It's to be somewhat expected in today's climate of software distribution, but when the new suite versions are released, crashes definitely spike. Given the much improved recovery functions of most of the applications, these crashes are frequently just annoyances now, and not major catastrophic events. That said, saving often is always a good practice.

The subscription model isn't for everyone either.

Recommendations to others considering the product

Evaluate all the tools on the market and your business functions. Will you need all the tools in the suite? If so, the subscription model could work out for you. If not, it may cost you more than buying a box product.

What business problems are you solving with the product? What benefits have you realized?

I do all of my creation in the Adobe Creative Suite. Everything from email blasts, front-end web design, print materials to video and motion graphics. I grew up using Adobe applications, so while there are many alternatives rising up through the ranks, the Creative Suite remains the tool of choice for me. I've been able to keep my skills current and pick up the new features that fit my workflow.

What do you like best?

Everything I ever need to do my graphic design work is right in the Adobe Creative Suite. I never had to worry about getting different brands of products to do the work I need. I use Adobe Photoshop, InDesign and Illustrator the most. Bridge is another program that I like using to view all the my files before opening. The one feature I like about Adobe Acrobat Pro is that I can pull apart pieces of PDF files that people send over and I can reuse the graphics and rebuild new media with them if someone didn't send over the right file type.

What do you dislike?

The newest version is now on the cloud and you have to pay for a yearly membership instead of paying for the version you want and then using it until your heart is content or too outdated. I would say that is my only dislike of the products itself. I wish that when I updated my iMac to the latest system version Yosemite, that Adobe wouldn't of crashed on me so that I had to upgrade my software.

Recommendations to others considering the product

If you are looking to anything creative and art related, you should use this product! The support isn't the easiest to talk to in my opinion, but it is easy to use and get new inspiration ideas from if you are using the Cloud.

What business problems are you solving with the product? What benefits have you realized?

I wouldn't say I am problem solving with this product, but it is efficient for me have these programs available to me so that I can open up all file types from any customer and use them in my advertisements and exhibits that we have.

What do you like best?

Premiere gives easy access to all of the tools needed to make quick cuts and produce quality content quickly. Additionally, it includes enough encoders for almost any file type you could want to encode a final cut into. All in all, it is a great product that makes video production fairly quick and intuitive.

What do you dislike?

It can be a memory hog, but this is expected from all video editing programs. Performing fairly common operations like fade in and out can be slightly more time consuming that necessary because it requires dragging an effect out of the effects library. However, these inconveniences are minor compared to the numerous benefits of the software. The main issue at this point is the price for an individual to pay for the entire Creative Suite.

Recommendations to others considering the product

There is a reason that the Adobe Creative Suite has become the industry standard for media production. It is a solid set of products that provide basically all of the capabilities you will need to produce any kind of digital media from photos to videos to websites. There are discounts available for students and others, but for most it will probably need to be purchased through a business to be worthwhile.

What business problems are you solving with the product? What benefits have you realized?

My business was testing a new campaign to reach a wider audience through social media. Using Adobe Premiere and other products from the suite, we were able to produce quality product reviews in a short time. Overall, Premiere greatly simplified the production costs for our small business. By using these products we were able to gather a significantly better following on social media.

What do you like best?

Easy to use tools that make the experience of design very time efficient.

What do you dislike?

Would like a cohesive walk through video on using all the tools in different adobe software.

Recommendations to others considering the product

Go for it! No need to think twice. Yes, it is heavy to use on some computers, but totally worth it.

What business problems are you solving with the product? What benefits have you realized?

Since the adobe creative suite is a widely used software, it is easy to send and receive open files. Hence making it easy for multiple users to work on the same file. Some of the new tools introduced in the creative cloud suite have definitely saved me a lot of time and effort while designing complex artworks.

What do you like best?

I like how all of the programs work together, especially using Bridge and After Effects.

What do you dislike?

It seems to me that you can no longer buy these products individually. I may be wrong, but I think if you want to use After Effects, you have to buy CS as a bundle. In addition, I HATE how it practically takes over your computer (at least on a Mac, I can't speak for Windows). It automatically starts up when you start your computer, and even when I go into the required system folders to delete the files that cause it to launch on startup, it doesn't always prevent it.

Recommendations to others considering the product

Especially if you're a graphic designer, this is a must-have. Just be aware of its tendency to overtake your computer.

What business problems are you solving with the product? What benefits have you realized?

It was easy to export a video from one program to another with Media Encoder, and it also gave me more formats to export to than other programs I had been using.

What do you like best?

Well, most everything. I could not continue as a creative professional without Adobe Creative Suite. I design illustrations and logos in Illustrator, copy these into my layouts in InDesign. I edit and tweak images in Photoshop and place these images into InDesign. InDesign is my most-used program within the Creative Suite.

What do you dislike?

I truly enjoy the product. The pricing has been a bit of a challenge. I also think the user interface could be a bit cleaner / better.

Recommendations to others considering the product

The Creative Suite is now offered though the Creative Cloud. While Adobe's monopoly on the market is a bit frustrating, to me, this has been a worthwhile investment.

What business problems are you solving with the product? What benefits have you realized?

What do you dislike?

Recommendations to others considering the product

Due to instability you may need to reboot the software on occasion. It is annoying and hopefully a bug that they will resolve soon.

What business problems are you solving with the product? What benefits have you realized?

The core tool allows me to remain on the cutting edge of media production software, remaining competitive in the industry at an extremely affordable price. It has also facilitated an ease of workflow in projects involving multiple collaborators unlike I've previously seen.

What do you like best?

If I have to narrow down what I like best of all the Creative Suite, the belle of the ball is always Photoshop. However, now that the CC Cloud is in existence, the ease of moving, uploading, creating, and sharing files is vastly ahead of any other design programs.

What do you dislike?

There are aspects of the Creative Suite that don't suite me, for instance, the price to register all products on a month-to-month basis is very high.

Recommendations to others considering the product

Look at different CC packages for more affordable options.

What business problems are you solving with the product? What benefits have you realized?

I work in design, illustrator, concept, web design, and the fine arts. InDesign, for example, has the benefit of acting like a Word program, only one that is advanced and interactive, with artistic function. The Creative Suite in its entirety supplies multiple benefits such as organization, interaction drawing techniques, data sharing, and top of the line painting capabilites.

What do you like best?

One of the best things about Adobe Creative Suite is that you get all the programs you need in one purchase. They all work together across different platforms.

What do you dislike?

There isn't anything I don't like about the Adobe Creative Suite.

Recommendations to others considering the product

If you have many different things you want to accomplish in your design or marketing area, this is the best software for your money.

What business problems are you solving with the product? What benefits have you realized?

We have different design and web items needed and this suite helps in different areas. The benefits are that we can not only design but do website images, create fillable forms, video presentations, design marketing, etc.

What do you like best?

Complete suite of high-quality, professional tools for graphic design, web graphics, video editing and special effects. It is also seen as the industry standard, so highly recommended in a professional context.

Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign are the most relevant in my domain (architecture, research, teaching), but there is an abundance of tools for web design (Dreamweaver, Flash, Edge, Muse), video editing (Premiere, After Effects, Audition) and pre-press (PDF, Acrobat).

It is available for Windows and OSX.

There is an abundance of books, tutorials, websites and resources that support Adobe Creative Suite/Cloud, so you have no excuse of not being able to find what you need.

What do you dislike?

Very large applications, that take a long time to master properly.

For full usage, Adobe insists on the Creative Cloud subscription system, which is very expensive when this is not your primary suite of tools for everyday work. It is very expensive for students or people only using two or three applications (e.g. Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign).

Recommendations to others considering the product

If you use it intensively and need multiple applications from the Suite, then the Creative Cloud is a fair subscription model. But for small-scale or occasional use, there are cheaper alternatives available.

What business problems are you solving with the product? What benefits have you realized?

Learning and teaching graphics in the context of architectural education. Also used it to create and edit vectorial images for varies purposes.

While I'm stuck at an older CS4 Design Premium Suite, it has continued to work reliably on my Mac. I'm not upgrading to Creative Cloud, though.